Technologies
Best Gear for Online Meetings: Webcams, Lights, Mics, Tripods and More
Zoom call for work? Cocktail hour on FaceTime? This gear will enhance all your video chats.
Video conferencing on Zoom, Google Meet and the likes is no longer novel. While many aspects of our lives have returned to normal, working from home and distance learning are here to stay. If you haven’t already, it’s important to get a quality webcam and set up the rest of your telecommuting gear so that you look and sound your best during remote video calls and meetings.
Part of this means learning the fundamentals of a videoconference meeting on camera. You don’t need an HD webcam to get good results — optimizing lighting conditions (don’t try to stream in low light), choosing the ideal environment and positioning the camera lens in just the right way can make your video call look much more professional. Truly, you don’t need to be a professional YouTube personality or Twitch streamer with a great webcam, even better external mic and lighting options galore to look good during live streaming and video recording — even a novice can function competently without too much of a learning curve.
First, it’s essential to have the right gear, including the best webcam and microphone. Unfortunately, in most cases, your laptop’s built-in camera and microphone stink — and they’re preventing you from coming across as professionally as possible on videoconferencing calls. You should ditch the integrated webcam and invest in a standalone webcam and stereo microphone with noise cancellation. Even a cheap webcam with autofocus and a decent microphone can improve picture quality and sound enough to take things to the next level when on a video call.
Upgrading your audio and video tech is fairly easy from a technical perspective, however, and relatively affordable — and it will dramatically improve your production values in virtual meetings. We’ve compiled a shortlist of the best gear for video chats from home webcams, lights, mics and more that will enhance your video chatting. This list has plenty of input from CNET’s on-camera video team, all of whom are working from home now, too. Our favorite picks for the best webcam and external mic options are below, and we’ll update this periodically.
(Note that prices are accurate at time of original publication, but may fluctuate. Also, availability and delivery times are changing all the time, so be sure to check before moving forward with any purchase.)
Read more: Best Wireless Earbuds and Bluetooth Headphones for Making Calls
More WFH advice
- The Best Wireless Range Extenders in 2023
- Learn to Code with These 5 Online Coding Courses for Beginners
- Best Kids’ Tablets for 2023
- 7 Must-Have Ergonomic Upgrades for Your Home Office
- Ultimate Webcam Tips: How to Look and Sound Great Online
- Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Which to Use for Videoconferencing
- Twitch Streaming Gets ‘Sudden Influx’ of Copyright Takedown Requests
- Best Video Streaming Devices for 2023
- Best Headphones for Noise Cancellation
- How to Use Your Phone as a Webcam
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Fan noise.
Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.
Blue group hint: Minor league.
Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.
Green group: Basketball offenses.
Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.
Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.
Technologies
Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work
The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.
Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.
The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.
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A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.
The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.
Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses
A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.
Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.
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